Discover How the Psychology of Alcoholism and Addiction is Caused

October 15th, 2008  | Tags:

by Carl-Peter

Alcoholism and drug addiction are complex illnesses. Getting to the bottom of their causes isn't straightforward.

Genetic factors and the fact that alcoholism and addiction is hereditary in many cases, certainly does play a role. But that only explains part of the story because ultimately we're all shaped by our environmental influences - parents, family, peers, experiences, media etc.

So when considering the impact our psychological makeup plays in drug addiction and alcoholism - our psychological makeup is largely formed in our formative childhood years - mostly from our family environment, particularly our parents.

If we are brought up in a home environment that is mostly supportive, loving, stable and secure - we'll tend to develop a healthy sense of who are, good self-esteem and be fairly well-adjusted.

But if our early years are fraught with turmoil, instability or trauma - whether it be through having an alcoholic parent for example, losing a loved one, parents divorcing, being abused, or anything else that may affect us emotionally - we tend to develop various coping mechanisms to deal with that, which can then manifest in a number of ways (not always immediately though).

This could mean you find yourself developing a whole bunch of stuff - which could be anything from depression to anger, anxiety, different kinds of eating disorders and naturally various forms of addiction, including drugs and alcohol.

If you speak to someone who has suffered from alcoholism or drug addiction, chances are there will be something pretty traumatic that happened to them when they were young. Having a parent that struggled with alcoholism was my main one - and obviously the impact that then had on our family.

Of course that won't always be the case and I'm sure you'll find many drug addicts and alcoholics who came from stable, loving and supportive environments. But when looking at alcoholism and psychology - and trying to understand the psychology of alcoholism and drug addiction, hopefully you'll now have a better understanding of things.

About the Author:

Similar Posts:

No comments yet.
TOP